Surgical drainage appliance



Feb Z5 1.954: J; M. JONES; JR

SURGICAL DRAINAGE APPLIANCE Original. Filed F'eb. 24F,l 1958' ATTORNEY Unite States Patent 3,122,159 SURGlCAL DRAENAGE APPLAN'CE Jantes M. dones, r., 37 Ayrshire Road, Vvoreester, Mass. Continuation oi application Ser. No. 715,254, Feb. 24, 1958. This application lune 13, i960, Ser. No. 35,763 4 Claims. (6l. 12S- 275) This is a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 717,254 tiled February 24, 1958, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to surgical drainage appliances usable for instance to connect a catheter to a liquid collecting receptacle.

Following certain types of operation, it is usual hospital practice ot insert a catheter in the patient and connect 1t by a drainage tube to some form of liquid collector or receptacle. Devices of this kind now in use have the common defect of not establishing a satisfactory connection between the tube and the receptacle, and as a result the tube is frequently pulled out of position due to movement of the patient.

It is an important obiect of the present invention to provide a connection between the tube and receptacle so constructed as to lock the tube to the receptacle to prevent their separation and at the same time establish a leakproof connection which will remain water tight even though the receptacle should be tipped over.

lt is common experience in hospitals that nurses have ditliculty in connecting the catheter to the drainage tube in a manner which will secure the catheter and tube together tightly to prevent their separation. lt is a further object ot the invention to provide a simple form or" resilient lock which can be readily moved into holding position after the catheter has been slipped over a connector or tting on one end of the tube. ln one form of the invention this form of resilient lock can also be used to connect the lower end of the tube to a tting on either a rigid or bag type receptacle.

In the accompanying drawings which by example show four forms of the invention,

FIG. l shows a vertical section through the preferred form of the invention prior to complete assembly,

FlG. 2 is an enlargement of the upper end or" FIG. l,

PIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 3 3,

FG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of the lower part of FIG. l after complete assembly,

FiG. 5 is a view showing the preferred form completely assembled ready for use,

FIG. 6 is a vertical section similar to llG. 4 showing the rst modiication, and

FIG. 7 is a View similar to a part of FlG. 4 showing the second modication.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. l to 5, the catheter C, which may be of the well known Foley type, has a lower end l which is elastic and can be readily stretched. The tube T preferably made or" a plastic material such as polyethylene or polystyrene has a connector Z at its upper end and has an attaching member 3 at its lower end for locking engagement with a fitting member 4 which has a tight nt with the neck 5 of a liquid receiver or receptacle R which may be a glass bottle. When these parts are assembled as shown in FlG. 5 they are ready r'or use, the catheter (upper end not shown) being inserted into the patient and attached to the connector 2 and the bottle resting on the door.

The connector 2 is of double fru""roconica1 form having an upper part lll which llc-.res downwardly and a lower part il which tapers downwardly. The connector has a peripheral groove i2 extending around between the parts lil and ll. A Aes ient ring 13, such as an elastic rubber band or open metal spring ring, has a normal internal diameter less than the largest diameter of the connector and can be nested in groove l2 to prevent loss, or be held frictionally by slight expansion around part 1l, or surround the tube.

When the catheter is to be iitted to the connector the ring 13 will be in some such position as shown in dotted lines in FlG. 2 and the lower end of the catheter will be stretched over the upper conical part lil and also over part at least of the lower part ll so that it extends over the groove 12. The ring is then pushed up along part ll over the bottom end of the catheter until it reaches the groove, whereupon it will snap into the groove due to its resilience and will thus hold the catheter firmly in position on the connector 2. The latter has a passage l5 which communicates with the passage le in the catheter and also the passage i7 in tube T.

The neck 5 of the bottle has atop lip or rib 20 and a lower rib El the top and bottom sides of which are inclined as shown in FIG. 4. The tting member 4 has a top 22 and a cylindrical shell 23 depending therefrom. An internal circular rib 24 fits snugly under lip Ztl and cooperates with the top 2.2 to hold the upper part of the shell to the lip 2;@ and top of the bottle neck. A second lower internal circular rib 25 on the shell lits snugly uncer the rib 2i and is shaped to lit closely against the under side of rib 2l. A tab 2e extends from a side of the shell, all as shown in FlG. 4. The top 22 is Jformed with a downwardly inclined funnel shaped locking part 27. Vent holes 23 are provided in the top 22.

The attaching member 3 secured to the lower end of tube T is formed at its lower end with a laterally projecting shoulder 3b extending around tre member 3. Fl`he outside diameter of this shoulder is somewhat greater than the normal inside diameter oi the ring 13 to prevent loss of the ring from the bottom of the tube. The normal inside diameter of the opening 3l at the bottom of the tunnel shaped part 27 is preferably sliohtly less than the outside diameter of the cylindrical shank 32 of the attaching member 3. The shoulder 3l? may llare upwardly at about the angle of the funnel part 27, but this is not essential. The passage 33 in the member 3 communicates with passage i7 and the interior of the bottle.

With the several parts in the positions shown in FIG. l, the left-hand part of fitting member 4 will be moved down along the left side of neck 5 and then be stretched by tab 2e until the member is in the position shown in FIG. 4 and is firmly attached to the neck of tue bottle. Trie part 3 is then forced down into the funnel, part 27, spreading the latter sulliciently to allow the shoulder 39 to pass, after which the funnel part will snap back over the shoulder and against the shank 32 thus interlocking the parts 3 and 4 and creating a leak-prooi seal of the part 27 around the shank 32. The tting member l is made of a material, such as polyethylene, which is suiliciently resilient and elastic to permit the operations described..

ln the form of the invention already set forth the parts connecting catheter to the receptacle are preferably made of plastic material such as polyethylene or polystyrene. The tube T is cemented or otherwise suitably secured to the connector 2 and attaching member 3 and although it is flexable it is not very elastic. ln the first modification shown in FIG. 6 the invention is shown as being adaptable to use with an elastic tube T'.

ln FIG. 6 the litting member it? has its lower part similar to the corresponding part of member 4, but its top 4l, instead of being funnel shaped, extends across the shell 4Z and has formed integral with it an upstanding upwardly tapering connector 43 formed with a peripheral groove de similar to groove l2. he tube T is sott elastic rubber and can be easily stretched over connector t3 after which a ring l5 is slipped down to the position shown in FIG. 6 to squeeze the adjacent part of tube T' into the groove 44 in a manner similar to that already described for the form shown in FIG. 2. A passage 46 through the connector 43 connects the passage 47 in tube T with the interior of the receptacle (not shown but similar to bottle R) to which the mem-r ber 40 is tted. The upper end of tube T can be connected to the catheter as for instance by a part similar to connector 2, or in any other convenient manner.

In certain uses to which the invention can be put, of-

fensive odors arise from the contents of the receptacle and it is a further object of the invention to provide means to counteract or suppress these odors. FIG. 7 shows such a means applied for instance to the lower end of the drainage tube such as shown in the preferred form. A collar 8i) of porous preferably textile material, such as felt, surrounds the ttings at the lower end f tube T and has a conical part 81 which fits into the funnel like top of part 4 and has a tiange 82 overhanging the vents 28 but spaced above the top of part 4 to permit escape of air as the receptacle fills up. A deodorant preferably in liquid form is dropped on the collar, saturating the latter and being held by the flange in the path of air arising from the vents to check objectionable odors. The collar has a bore 84 which snugly ts the part 4 and tube T and is too small to pass the fittings at the upper and lower ends of the tube. The collar is thus held against loss and is disposable with the tube and the parts connected to it.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a surgical drainage appliance including a connector with a groove to receive a lock or holding ring either for a catheter or for a fitting for a receptacle. The ring because of its size cannot become accidentally disconnected from the tube, being confined between the :fittings at the ends of the tube. In the first modification a rub` ber tube can be used and in the second modification an absorbent collar covers the vent holes and can be treated with a deodorant. In the first form the lower end of the tube can be pushed down into the receptacle to permit ready inspection of the drippings from the tube and then pulled up to the normal position shown.

I claim:

1. In a surgical drainage appliance, a liquid receiver formed with a neck, a tting member surrounding the neck and having a vent hole in the top thereof, a tubular drain means passing down through the fitting member into the receiver, a collar of absorbent deodorant holding material surrounding the tubular means, and means centering the collar with respect to the tubular means and eiective to hold the collar spaced above said fitting member and vent hole.

2. The appliance set forth in claim 1 wherein the tubular drain means has a catheter connector on the upper end thereof and an attaching member on the lower end thereof interlocked with the fitting member and said collar is prevented from slipping off the drain means by said connector and said attaching member.

3. The appliance set forth in claim 1 wherein the fitting member has a downwardly directed funnel part between the vent and the tubular drain means and the absorbent material ts into said funnel part and the latter limits down motion of said absorbent material.

4. The appliance set forth in claim 3 wherein the absorbent material is formed with a flange extending over the vent and held spaced above the vent by engagement of the absorbent material with said funnel part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 341,855 Parker May 11, 1886 2,464,933 Kaslow Mar. 22, 1949 2,555,086 Guinn May 29, 1951 2,667,873 Hein Feb. 2, 1954 2,687,831 Miller Aug. 31, 1954 2,763,266 Evans Sept; 18, 1956 2,790,582 Halpern Apr. 30, 1957 2,853,072 Fischer Sept. 23, 1958 ,890,699 Miller June 16, 1959 2,940,450 Witt et al. June 14, 1960 2,941,532 Borin June 21, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,554 Germany Oct. 30, 1909 

1. IN A SURGICAL DRAINAGE APPLIANCE, A LIQUID RECEIVER FORMED WITH A NECK, A FITTING MEMBER SURROUNDING THE NECK AND HAVING A VENT HOLE IN THE TOP THEREOF, A TUBULAR DRAIN MEANS PASSING DOWN THROUGH THE FITTING MEMBER INTO THE RECEIVER, A COLLAR OF ABSORBENT DEODORANT HOLDING MATERIAL SURROUNDING THE TUBULAR MEANS, AND MEANS CENTERING THE COLLAR WITH RESPECT TO THE TUBULAR MEANS AND EFFECTIVE TO HOLD THE COLLAR SPACED ABOVE SAID FITTING MEMBER AND VENT HOLE. 